I am first time user of this forum. I am desperate to gain control of my 7 month old beagle. He is very loving, but exhibits many dominant behaviors. His nipping/biting has grown out of control and I fear that he will bite a house guest or worse, my young nieces and nephews. Most people, other dog owners and my vet, shrug off my complaints as he's a puppy and he's teething. They tell me he will outgrow out the phase and to bare with it. I've tried everything in the book... from ignoring him, yelping as if I'm hurt, to pinning, etc. My boyfriend and I have eliminated any physical response to his biting because it all makes it worse. I notice that his biting has gotten much worse as he has grown. We neutered him about one month ago in hopes that he would calm down a bit, however we have seen no change in his behavior. A recent incident has me extremely concerned. He bit me last Fridat in the upper-shin while I was on the telephone. The situation began with him nipping at my pant leg, yet when i shooed him away and then ignored him... he jumped up and latched onto my leg, leaving me with a large bruise. I have never raised a puppy, but this behavior does not seem typical by any means. Is it possible that my dog has a chemical imbalance of some sort? The reason why i ask, is because he is very obedient to the basic commands. Please help.
I too am also having the same problem with my 7month old coton, He gets very excited and starts nipping at my pants leg, I have tried a loud sound, shushing him, saying NO but nothing seems to be working. Would love some help with this.
I don't think your puppies' bites are mean bites. They want to play but they don't have playmates. If puppies have playmates they will learn how hard they can bite because they will learn how hurt it is by play biting.
Now, your puppies are already 7 months old so they should learn that pretty quickly, otherwise they can really hurt people.
What you can do is to initiate a play biting using some toy or knotted sock. If your dog's teeth hurt your hand, say "OUCH!!" out loud and stop playing. You can leave the room to give him a timeout. You can come back and play again but make sure his teeth can only bite the toy not your hand. Repeat this many times, every day. You can also teach your puppy to take treats from your hand gently. If he tries to teeth your hand/fingers to get the treat, say "Gentle" and don't release the treat until he learns to take if softly. Also for satisfying his biting/chewing desire, you can give your puppy a rawhide or bone to chew when left alone.
I think biting is a natural behavior of dogs. However, they can learn what they can bite and what they can not.
I really do feel for you. I have a 4month old Rottie from a rescue shelter ( I have him since 9 weeks)and He is the greatest dog except when it comes to the biting. I've had two trainers and a vet that have told me this is play biting. He jumps, growls, causes bleeding to hands, feet and legs and all while he is wagging his tail. I've tried the following already-ignore, time outs, bitter apple on skin, substitiute chew toy, listerine spray, pop and release with choke collar, treats, submissive back roll, a stern no. I've had other dogs but never had this problem. I've never hurt him. I really do need some advise becasue he is going to be a big dog and I'm trying everyhting to correct this problem. He is obedient and good with other dogs and people until he gets in this phase. There is no rhyme or reason which starts it and we never play aggressive games with him. Any advice?????
I know it might feel like your pup will never stop the nipping and biting, but they do. My TT/poodle was very mouthy. He would go for hands, feet, flowing clothing, pretty much anything that moved. We did a combination of yelping and stopping dead in our tracks, looking him square in the eye and firmly saying "No, not yours". Don't move until he backs off. He learned. Sometimes I think it takes a lot for a puppy to give up what is really really fun. Be sure everyone in your house does the same things.
I have a 7month old puppy as well.... from my experience what has worked the best for me is as soon as he bites me I take his leash (his collar works too if you can't get to his leash) and I put him in time-out - I use the washroom. After about 2 minutes I will go and let him out. Each time he bites me I do this. Now, when he goes to bite I say "No" and he hestiates because dogs just want to be with their pack - he does not want to be isolated.
Maybe that might help for your dogs... Hard to say they are all different. I went through a time when I actually considered giving my dog up because I could not deal with the biting. It may not seem like it, but it does eventually get better.
